Photo: Ecns.cn

China is holding a national memorial ceremony Friday morning in Nanjing City, east China's Jiangsu Province, to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937. 

Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing to pay tribute.  

At the ceremony, a national flag will be flown at half-staff and a moment of silence will be observed.  

Photo: Ecns.cn

On December 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then China's capital, and began more than 40 days of slaughter, murdering about 300,000 civilians and unarmed Chinese soldiers. 

The date was designated as the "National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims" in February 2014 and a national memorial ceremony has been held annually on December 13 ever since.